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2001 Fernando Alonso season
|nationality = |age = 19 |entrant = European Minardi F1 |number = 21 |teammate = Tarso Marques Alex Yoong |entries = 17 |starts = 17 |poles = 0 |wins = 0 |podiums = 0 |fastestlaps = 0 |points = 0 |position = 23rd |constructor = }} Pre-Season Alonso had first come under the radar at when at the age of 17 he had dominated the 1999 Euro Open by Nissan championship. It was said by Adrián Campos that in his first test session in a single seater car, he had already match the record of the previous year's champion, Marc Gené. Gené, who himself was considered a Spanish racing prodigy had since graduated to Formula One whilst Alonso went on to take the title in the same series as Gené had done in the previous year. With Alonso considered to be even quicker than Gené, Minardi had offered Alonso a test in the Minardi at Jerez on the 13th December 1999. Alonso immediately impressed, his best lap times were 1.7 seconds than the other Minardi test drivers, including race driver, Marc Gené. Minardi were so impressed with Alonso that they signed him as a part of their line-up almost immediately. Unlike most drivers, Alonso had a very limited budget and therefore was completely reliant on his reputation and skill alone to determine his place in motor racing. His manager, Adrián Campos who at the time was attempting to purchase the Minardi team had signed him to the team until the end of . However he would begin his first year with the team as a test driver where he would compete in International Formula 3000 with the backing from the team's title sponsor, Telefonica. His role in Formula One was limited, the team was in the middle of a financial crisis and throughout the season Minardi was looking for a new buyer. With Telefonica confirmed to be exiting the team at the end of the season, for a time Alonso's career looked dire as both he and Minardi had no funds. Nonetheless, Alonso was proving himself in Formula 3000. Although only a teenager, Alonso was proving he could match the older driver's in the series and had made a habit of being able to fight through the field from the back of the grid. Despite a number of crashes, Alonso had made his mark by the end of the season. He finished second at the Hungaroring before winning the season finale at Spa-Francorchamps. Although only having done two seasons in single seaters, Alonso had taken victory in his first season of F3000 and was expected to be placed into a race seat at Minardi for 2001. During testing he had regularly outpaced both Minardi's race drivers, Marc Gené and Gastón Mazzacane. Nonetheless there was continuing dispute as to whether Minardi would even be in Formula One for 2001. Although they had found a buyer, the team had still failed to secure an engine deal and there was significant potential that they would not be prepared for the new season. Whilst his manager, Adrián Campos was insisting that he remain at Minardi, Alonso's excellent F3000 results had garnered the attention of the top teams in Formula One. The world champions, were even said to be interested in Alonso's services. Ferrari were pushing to sign Alonso for the team that would be running Ferrari engines in 2001. However it was Flavio Briatore who capitalised on attaining Alonso's services for the new season. Briatore had an interest in Alonso ever since 1999 and with Minardi on the verge of collapse saw an opportunity to free him from his five year deal with the team. Briatore convinced Alonso that the owned team should take over his Minardi contract. The new terms being that he would now be employed in the services of Briatore's management team as well as now being under contract with Renault until 2004. With Minardi unable to guarantee a secure future, Alonso was able to break free of his contract and instead pledged his loyalty to Briatore and Renault. Notably, however there was no placing for Alonso in the Benetton team for 2001 as they had already contracted Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button as race drivers as well as Mark Webber as reserve driver. Therefore Briatore in fact thought it best to loan him out to Minardi for 2001 allowing Alonso to gain Formula One experience whilst a potential opening for 2001 would allow him to move into Renault team. However the alternative possibility which was to position Alonso in a second season in Formula 3000 was for a time looking to be the more likely option. Following the conclusion of the 2000 season, Minardi had yet to find a buyer or an engine supplier ahead of the new season. With the team out of operation, Alonso had yet to complete the necessary mileage to qualify for an F1 superlicense. During December 2000, Alonso was given a large amount of running in the Benetton B200 in order to prepare for the new season. Although by the end of the year, he had qualified for a superlicense, his future had still yet to be decided. On the 7th January 2001, Alonso had stated "In 10 days, more or less, my future will be clear. I'm waiting on news from Minardi. To be ready in time for Australia, work on the car has to start next week." It was looking increasingly likely that Minardi would not be on the grid in Australia, however on the 30th January 2001, it was announced that Paul Stoddart's European Aviation had purchased a majority stake in the Minardi team. Whilst Briatore had been trying to negotiate the supply of the Renault owned engines to supply Minardi, Stoddart instead opted to run the cheaper engines for the new season. The Ford was already two years old and that paired with a chassis that was developed during a time of very little funding, Minardi were expecting a dire season in 2001. Alonso had his first Formula One test of the year on the 3rd February at Vairano. However whilst most teams had began testing their 2001 cars, Minardi had yet to even complete their 2001 challenger and Alonso was still driving the 2000 model. Whilst the paddock had known for months that Alonso was the prime candidate to be racing for Minardi in 2001, he wasn't confirmed in the team until the 7th February. The day earlier at the Benetton car launch, Flavio Briatore had confirmed to the world that Alonso was indeed contracted to Renault until 2004. A day later, Minardi had also officially announced that he would be driving for the team in 2001. Paul Stoddart commented "We've had our eye on Fernando for some time," commented team chief, Paul Stoddart. "Any driver who can come into the ultra-competitive world of F3000 and, in only his second season of single-seater racing, win at a circuit like Spa is clearly a bit special. He is going to be a great addition to the team." On the 21st February, CART driver, Tarso Marques whom had last raced in Formula One during 1997, incidentally for Minardi was announced as Alonso's teammate for the new season. The same day, Minardi had finally launched their 2001 challenger, the Minardi PS01. Both Alonso and Marques were able to do 30 laps between them at the Vairano circuit before preparing to ship out the car to Australia for the first round of the season. It looked to be a difficult season for Minardi. The team was expected to be well and truely last in the standings, running the new Michelin tyres as well as a two year old badged Ford Cosworth engine as well as a nearly completely untested car. Round 1: Australian Grand Prix main article: 2001 Australian Grand Prix Build-Up Whilst the PS01 had completed its shakedown in Vairano, the car was not officially unveiled until the 28th February. The car had a very low-key launch in Melbourne, Australia where a small assortment of the press where present at the Victorian parliament house to see Alonso, Marques, Paul Stoddart (team principal), Giancarlo Minardi (founder) and Gustav Brunner (chief designer) unveil the new car. Paul Stoddart had incredibly modest expectations of his two drivers stating "If I am standing on the grid with two cars in Sunday's race, that's the reward that we need." He would then go on to say "the perfect scenario for me would be for one car to finish on Sunday, that will be like winning the world championship." Stoddart had even more modest season expectations where he said "Starting so late, with no testing, a building programme that was impossible to achieve - 10th or better in the constructors' championship is the best we can expect." ''This would mean that Minardi were hoping to be simply the second slowest team on the grid. Neither Alonso or Marques had ever been to Melbourne before and the Albert Park track would be totally unfamiliar. Nonetheless, Alonso was in good spirits stating ''"I feel fantastic, I have confidence. For sure, I think the team will improve this year, but for us I think the first three or four races will be very difficult because we have not been able to do any testing for any time this winter." Having been asked as to whether he had completed any driving on the Albert Park circuit, Alonso stated "yes, I have driven the course on computer games, on Play Station, but I have also done some laps around it on a road car." Practice Despite the troubles of his team, Alonso immediately was able to demonstrate his own talent by putting his Minardi seventeenth fastest in the session. At the end of the day, Alonso had set times better than Luciano Burti, Gaston Mazzacane, Enrique Bernoldi, Jenson Button and teammate Marques. Marques had suffered a major engine blow out at the start FP2 which ended his session and presented some serious concerns for the team. Nonetheless, Paul Stoddart was ecstatic with Alonso's performance stating'' "The miracle continues!". Speaking in the Friday press conference, Stoddart spoke about Alonso stating "f''antastic. He was a little bit nervous as well before the first session, and he's now cool, calm and collected." Alonso was equally satisfied following his first day of practice noting "this morning the car had some understeer, but the engineers worked really well to sort it out.In the afternoon session I was definitely luckier than Tarso and had the opportunity to improve the car further. Now the car has changed and it looks more competitive. We will probably only make a few changes now to improve the car further. The potential is definitely there and I believe we will have a good car for the weekend." However the team were wary about their performance considering the engine problems that were encountered on Marques's car. Stoddart confirmed to the media in the Friday press conference that the team had used "the worst ones" ''during Friday. He further elaborated stating ''"we know that we have to wait until Barcelona before we cure the problem. We know what the problem is, so it's not going to be an issue, but it just takes time to manufacture new components and cure the problems. So hopefully by Brazil, we will have a small improvement; but by Barcelona, that problem should be gone altogether." During the Saturday practice session, Alonso further improved setting the fifteenth fastest time. His teammate, Marques, was once again slowest following spinning into the gravel trap. Qualifying Marques had been the first Minardi to take to the track, however immediately began to report "nervous brakes", it was clear he was struggling and was way off the pace of the competitors. However, Minardi were saved humiliation when Alonso entered the track and immediately went 3.6 seconds faster than his teammate. Marques thereafter appeared to be unsettled and could be seen overdriving the car to little avail. Alonso, however was managing to put in some consistently fast lap times, noting "I was not at all concerned, except that in qualifying you can only do your best lap once with each set of tyres, therefore I could not take too many risks given I hadn't a spare car at my disposal." Marques. meanwhile would lose control of his Minardi at turn three and end his session in the gravel. Following a big accident at turn five by Burti's , Alonso saw an opportunity to move up from the back row of the grid. He thereafter commented " I pushed a bit harder only towards the end of the session when I was sure I had qualified. But I missed a braking point, losing almost half a second." Alonso would put his car nineteenth on the grid, placing his car ahead of Mazzacane's Prost as well as Burti and Marques. However, he made a mistake on what was seemingly set to be his fastest lap. Alonso had believed he had the speed to match his FP3 times that would have put him fifteenth fastest. He reported at the end of the session "I feel a bit disappointed but overall I am pleased." '' He would have possibly had the chance for further runs, however had to return to the pits to allow Marques to comandeer his car. The team did not have a spare and therefore Marques had to take Alonso's in a desperate attempt to get within the 107% qualifying time. Despite having another run, Marques was still unable to achieve a time fast enough to qualify and his best time was still 2.6 seconds slower than Alonso's. Despite the car's lack of testing, Alonso believed he had the pace to match the , 's and 's. Race In the warm-up, Alonso was once again demonstrating competitive pace and ended the session sixteenth fastest. He remained consistently faster than the Arrows, Benetton, Prost's, Burti's Jaguar and teammate Marques who once again was at the bottom of the field. Although he had failed to qualify, Marques had been granted special permission by the stewards to enter the race. The goal for the team was to ensure that both cars made it to the finish. However, given the engine problems the team remained pessimistic of their chances ahead of the race. Whilst the Minardi did not appear to have the race pace of its competitors, Alonso had a solid race to which he noted ''"today's objective was to finish the race and that is what happened, so it couldn't have turned out better. The team worked flat out over the weekend and the result is a clear demonstration of that. My car went really well over the whole race, allowing me to push hard until the end." Alonso finished the race in twelfth, two laps down on race winner Michael Schumacher, however he managed to finish ahead of both Benetton's whom had encountered technical issues. Teammate Marques had a very early engine failure which raised concern for Alonso's car, however he appeared to continue throughout the race without problem. However Alonso notably gained some notoriety in the race. Having completed his second pit-stop, Alonso exited the pits right in front of the battle for second between Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. As was described by Barrichello in the post-race press conference '' "he didn't look at the blue flags at the end of the straight, he just wanted to keep on going fast, and obviously I had no space to go and I had to go kind of on the grass."'' In response, Alonso was apologetic noting :I am sorry for getting in Barrichello's way. I was rejoining the track after stopping in the pits and visibility in the mirrors was very low. I only saw him at the last moment, when it was too late to let him pass." Nonetheless, the race had been excellent for Alonso where he closed in saying "The car just went better and better as the fuel load lightened, so much so that I was able to improve my lap times in the closing stages of the race." Paul Stoddart was ecstatic with his team's performance, noting '' Fernando not only showed today what he is capable of, but also proved that the Gustav Brunner-designed European Minardi PS01 chassis will need to be taken seriously this year. I feel for Tarso as, without exception, every technical problem the team encountered this weekend was on his car. '' Weekend Teammate Comparison Round 2: Malaysian Grand Prix main article: 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix Build-Up In finishing the race, Alonso had exceeded Minardi's expectations in Australia. However whilst he had a strong performance, teammate Marques, was hampered by reliability problems throughout the weekend. Furthermore, a lack of a spare car had compromised the qualifying as Alonso was forced to give his car up to Marques who had earlier spun out of the session. For Malaysia, the team would have a benefit of a third car on hand throughout the weekend. The problematic chassis that had been run by Marques in Australia would be designated as the spare car, whilst Marques would run the less troubled chassis operated by Alonso in Australia. Alonso meanwhile would compete in the newly constructed chassis for the Malaysian race. Practice Malaysia began much problematic for Alonso than it did in Australia. In FP1, an electrical problem developed after two laps which forced him back into the pits. He was thereafter forced to sit out the remainder of the session. Gustav Brunner described the problem as being "difficult to trace" ''and he therefore had to sit out of the first 40 minutes of FP2 as well. Alonso was able to return to the track for the final 20 minutes of the session, thereafter he reported ''"once the problem was sorted out, I was able to run eight laps more over the last 20 minutes. The car was then much better, which allows me to be confident for tomorrow's qualifying." Despite his troubles, Gustav Brunner was impressed with his performance stating "he was then running a car that hadn't had any set-up work done on it, and he actually did very well to set the time he did." Paul Stoddart closed by stating "we're particularly pleased that both drivers have adapted so quickly to a track they've never been to before, and I feel comfortable that we'll see a significant improvement in the team's performance tomorrow and for the race." After the session, Alonso attended his first FIA press conference. At the forefront of the press for the first time, when he was asked if he felt pressure in being in Formula One at such a young age, Alonso simply said "no, I don't feel pressure." Qualifying However during qualifying, Alonso would experience difficulty for the first time behind the wheel of the car. He had a strong FP3 in which he ran faster than Jean Alesi's Prost and Button's Benetton, however in FP4 his car began developing a mechanical problem. Therefore for qualifying, it was decided Alonso would run in the spare car. Alonso did two runs in the spare car, however after being dissatisfied with the handling of the car he switched to his race car for the final run. After the session, Alonso noted "The cars behaved quite differently and it affected my concentration. I couldn't get into a good rhythm and made some mistakes, with the result that I just didn't put a quick lap together." '' Although he struggled and was on the back row of the grid, he remained ahead of Marques whom had a lot less problematic weekend. It had not looked the best weekend in Malaysia, however Stoddart was optimistic stating ''"As ever, tomorrow is another day. Both our drivers are strong racers, so we remain hopeful of a good result in the race." Race Ahead of the race, Alonso's race car continued to be problematic and on his installation lap of the warm-up, his car ground to a halt. He was thereforce forced to use the erratic spare car for the remainder of the session and for the race. He continued to note that he "had a few problems trying to find the right chassis set-up." Worse was to come for Minardi when most of their pit-wall equipment which included the team radio and telemetry was destroyed in the heavy rain of the warm-up session. The two Minardi cars entered the race severely compromised due to a lack of set-up development. After the race, Alonso noted "The hardest time, though, was when it started to rain and my car did not go well in the corners. I was forced to change tyres many times and, as a result, I had to pit five times, which is quite unusual." It was amazing that the Minardi cars finished considering their compromised set-up as well as problems such as an overheating gearbox, tyre degradation and a lack of radio communication. The cars finished thirteenth and fourteenth, with Alonso three laps down on winner, Michael Schumacher. However, he had consolation as still being a lap ahead of Marques. Stoddart commented on the troublesome event stated "Fernando must have come close to setting a record for the number of pit stops in a race; however, the team took the decision to let him continue racing despite a mechanical problem that necessitated all the non-scheduled stops." Alonso was philosophical about the weekend, noting "the positive side of today's race is that I accumulated a lot of experience in these conditions, and I feel sure I will be better prepared for Brazil as a result. I felt more comfortable in my car as every lap went by." Weekend Teammate Comparison Round 3: Brazilian Grand Prix Build-Up Practice Qualfying Race Weekend Teammate Comparison